A/N- Welcome, welcome to my first ever publicized fanfiction: The Gift! This is NOT a twincest fic, so if you're looking for that, this isn't for you. However, if you are looking for a cutesy brotherly/sisterly sort of fic, then look no further! ( ^O^ )

Also, English isn't my first language, so if you would be so kind as to point out any errors, I would greatly appreciate it! Also please review! It would mean the world to me! (◕‿◕✿)

I hope you all enjoy!


"Sometimes, promises are meant to be broken, right?"

Those were the last words I heard from my sister, Rin. Our parents were getting a divorce and my dad was taking my sister to live with him in America, while I was going to stay with my mom in Japan. We were both very emotional over the whole ordeal and sometimes, we'd sleep in each other's arms just to know that our parents hadn't separated us in the dead of night. Rin was everything to me; she was my sun, my sister, my best friend, my life. There was no one like her in the whole world. So how can Dad take away the one person that means everything to me? I often asked myself. No matter how many times I asked, I couldn't come up with an answer.

It had been six years since Dad and Rin left and each day since then had been hell. I'd become someone whom I never thought I'd be, but I was too emotionally detached to care. I joined the punk scene a few months after I lost contact with Rin. We used to call each other every day, but Dad told us the bill was too high. Then, we tried out some chat rooms and met weekly, but Mom put a stop to that too. Finally, we wrote each other letters using our own money and I may have tried to call Dad a few times, just to check in, but each time he said Rin wasn't home and that he was too busy to talk. It was too stressful and Rin and I decided to just move on. I got a letter in the mail from Rin a few days after we decided to live and let die. It was one of the greatest days of my life.

Dear Len,

Hey there, little brother! How's life and school going for you? I really like my new school, but this English language is tricky stuff, there's all these crazy weird rules and stuff! As for life, it's a bit rough right now. Dad's not letting me call you or even talk to you, because he thinks that of we don't talk we'll forget each other, but how can I forget the most important thing in my life? How can I forget all those memories? I can't. Don't worry though! I'm already devising a plan! I'm going to make enough money from this new job I have (I'm a store manager! Isn't that great?!) And I'm going to fly back to Japan and live with you again. But you have to promise me something, okay? Promise me to find an apartment for us to live in and work extra hard to help meet me halfway with the first month's rent! I'm counting on you Len; you've never let me down before!

Love always,

Rin

I tried to get Mom to take me to the post office and get some more stamps so I could write Rin back, but she wouldn't do it. If the weather wasn't so crappy that day, I would've just taken my skateboard and rode down to the post office. I wasn't able to get stamps until a week later. The instant I got home I wrote Rin a letter, apologizing for the delay in writing her back, but also to accept her challenge and promise to get us an apartment. Later that same night, Dad called. I took this as a little strange, because Dad never called us. I answered, because Mom was on the couch, passed out with sake in her hands. Dad had told me that Rin had left the house to go get some bread, but hadn't come back yet and asked if she said anything in the letters she had sent me. I told him nothing, because the apartment was supposed to be a secret. He asked if Rin called us to please call him and he sounded genuinely worried about her. I could see through his pathetic façade though. He wasn't worried about Rin, he was worried about having to file a missing person report and because Dad and Rin hadn't been made American citizens yet, if they were found out they'd get shipped right back to Japan. I picked up the phone again, dialed our friend Miku and asked if she'd heard from Rin. Miku had said Rin had called a while ago. I told Miku what Dad told me and asked her to call Rin's cell and see if Rin picked up. Miku agreed and we said our goodbyes. I got a call a half an hour later from Miku. She explained Rin was over at a friend's house hiding from Dad, because she had broken a cup while serving dinner and Dad had hit her for it. Rin ran out of the house with what was in her pockets and ended up over a friend's house. I asked Miku to get the mailing address and her friend's phone number, thanked her, and hung up. She called a few minutes later with the address and passed on Rin's friend's number. I put the letter in our mailbox and wrote the number down and called. Sure enough a woman answered the phone with a bright, cheery voice. I asked for Rin and soon the phone changed hands. I talked to Rin for about an hour in the comfort of my room. Around the end of June, Rin sent me another letter. It was the last letter I ever got from her. It was written in a scrawl, but after a few times I could make out the words.

Dear Len,

I know this is short notice, but I have to make sure you know. If you need me, I'll be over at Jessica's house, she's the one you called Miku about. Luckily, it's nighttime and Dad doesn't know I'm packing or leaving tonight. I may not be able to contact you at all for a while, but DO NOT give up. I'm your sister and I will make sure I get back to you, Len. That's a promise. Anyway, I'm also getting rid of my cell phone so Dad can't track me. I've decided to live at Jessica's for a while and then go with her family on their trip to Japan in August. Please hold on for me, I'll be home soon.

Rin

That letter meant so much to me. In August, I could see my best friend again. I could be joyful again, I could be Len again.

But that hope wasn't meant to last. In mid-July, Jessica called me with bad news. Dad had found out where Rin lived from some of her co-workers and dragged Rin out. Jessica had followed them home and witnessed Dad beating Rin and called the police. She said Rin was currently in the ICU on life support and, from the way things look, Rin won't have adequate time to fully recover before they come to Japan. I didn't bother asking abut Dad, but I asked if Jessica was in the room with Rin and to see if she was up to talk. I talked to Rin for a few minutes before I heard the front door open. We quickly said our goodbyes, and I hung up and pretended like I was doing my homework. If Mom had any suspicions, she didn't make them clear and instead focused on keeping me and her from growing apart.

When August finally came, Rin was feeling a lot better. The doctors analyzed her and agreed she had made a swift recovery, but she was still not well enough to fly to Japan and would be sent home. Jessica's family told the doctor's about Rin and Dad's "incident" and how Dad was sent to jail. They also explained that they were her adoptive parents and that if Rin couldn't fly, they wouldn't make the trip. That seemed to bring the doctors down to earth again and they released her into the custody of Jessica's family. August came and went and I still had no idea where Rin was. I tried writing her some letters and, instead of a reply, it was always addressed return to sender. When October rolled around, I finally quit trying. I joined a punk scene, dressed in black, and quit high school. I smoked and drank in the small warehouse where my friends and I would meet up and Mom started taking the graveyard shifts, giving me more time to myself and be away from home.

It was the best I had felt in years. I had more friends than ever and had girls at my beck and call. It didn't matter what happened to me, I didn't care. Len Kagamine was dead, and in his place, I was born. A new creation and everyone could see the change in me. Mom, Luka, Miku, and my childhood friend Kaito all saw the change and confronted me about it. Each time they bugged me, I'd reply:

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

I wasn't fine. There was something gnawing at my insides. A secret. A broken promise. I gave up on Rin and her dreams, I threw away everything for my own selfish reasons, I died inside. Everything we had planned died when Len did. When I was born, a variety of new goals and dreams were born along with me and I intended to reach every single one. After about a year with no contact with Rin, I got an unexpected call from Jessica. Rin was back in the hospital. She was dying. Jessica asked I could make the trip to America and see Rin one last time. I didn't know. Would Mom be up to it? I didn't have a penny to my name and all I ever saved was spent on my cigarettes and sake. I just said I'd call her back and hung up.

I tried talking to Mom that night, but she didn't want to hear it. She said that I shouldn't have squandered my money like I did and that I'd face the consequences. I had to get the money somehow, so I called up Miku and Kaito to see if they'd be willing to chip in some money. They both thought it was going to drugs and said no. I couldn't believe none of my friends were helping me. I went to the bank, but because I hadn't had a job before, I had no credit established and was turned away from a loan. I pleaded with Lily, the last girl I wanted to ask for a handout from. Lily and I debated for around two hours about the loan and she finally said that if I got a job and could hold it down for a week, she'd lend me the money to go to America.

I searched through every single now hiring sign and help wanted ad. I searched for three weeks straight and during that time I quit smoking and drinking. I opened up a bank account. I was Len Kagamine reincarnated and those last six months became a blur; a past I never wanted to revisit. Now, I had the drive. I had a promise to keep to someone very special and I wasn't about to break it. I held down a cashier job for two weeks, so Lily could see I was serious and I told my boss I had to leave and visit my dying sister in America. He agreed that I could go, because I had done so much in the short two weeks I had been employed. I got to the airport, boarded the plane, and was on my way to America!

The flight itself took about seventeen hours, but I was finally in a place called San Diego. I looked around and began asking for help on where a Scripps Mercy Hospital was. Luckily, I learned a thing or two about English and found it had come back to me rather quickly. I soon found the hospital and approached the woman at the desk.

"Hello! Welcome to Scripps Mercy Hospital!" She said in a cheery voice.

"Hi, I've come to visit my sister, Kagamine Rin." I answered.

"Okay! Let me look her up!" The woman typed a few letters and searched the computer. "Hmm, are you sure she's in here?"

"She should be." I said in annoyed voice. I didn't have time for stupidity.

"You said her name is Kagamine Rin, right? I don't have anyone under that name." The woman said.

I face palmed. I had totally forgotten that Americans use the first name, last name sequence. "Try Rin Kagamine." I said impatiently.

The woman typed again, and sure enough, found my sister. "Oh, here she is! Okay, she's in room 2-B."

"Thanks." I sped off towards my dying sister.

I walked through the door quietly. "Rin, are you awake?"

My sister coughed a few times and sat up a little. "Len?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here, Rin." I walked over to her.

My sister was not a pretty sight. Her skin was pale and her neat blonde hair was a mess of tangles. She had dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep and her eyes, those beautiful sky blue eyes, were deadened.

I sat down in a small chair beside the bed.

"Len, how's Mom?" Rin asked.

"She's okay I guess. She took up a few bad habits." I said.

Rin laughed a little. "Miku says you took up some bad habits too.

I shrugged sheepishly. "I won't deny that."

Rin smiled and laid back down.

"Hey, Len." She said after a few minutes.

My ears perked up. "Yes, Rin?"

"I need a favor. I need you to stay with me, no matter what the doctors say, no matter if the police are called. I need you to be right here with me." Rin's eyes remained closed.

I squeezed her hand. "I'll be right here, waiting."

A few hours later the doctor came in to see me off and I told him I couldn't leave. Rin was dying and it was her wish to stay beside her. The doctor understood, but told me that I could only stay the night. Tomorrow night I'd have to find a hotel to sleep in.

Throughout the night, Rin woke up a few times asking me about various past events, like our trip to summer camp, our family vacation, the time she and I went skinny dipping with Miku, Piko, and Luka. I remembered every single one, every single memory was stuck in my head. I couldn't imagine life without Rin. I'd be emotionally dead if she left me for good. I watched the clock, not daring to sleep. At one point Rin woke up and asked me to crawl into the bed with her.

I nodded and did as I was told. Rin wrapped her weak arms around me. Holding me as tightly as possible, but I could feel her giving way. She whispered suddenly.

"I'm useless. I broke our promise."

"Don't worry, I did too. Rin, I'll forgive you if you forgive me." I said.

"Forgiveness won't make a difference. Anyway, thanks for spending the night with me, Len." Rin looked up at me.

I smiled. "You're my sister, how could I not?"

Rin's eyes moved to the window. "The sun's almost here and I have one last wish Len."

I kissed her forehead. "Just name it."

"Watch the sunrise with me, okay? Sometimes, I like to watch and see how long it takes for the sun to wake up."

"Okay, Rin." I replied. "Let's count."

We counted and counted. It took a full ten minutes before the sun kissed the sky. I looked down at Rin. She seemed so at peace with her eyes closed. She wasn't in pain or sorrowful when her eyes were closed.

As if on cue with my thoughts, Rin opened her eyes slightly.

"I promised that I could go on forever. What a stupid thing to say." Rin said again.

"Rin..." I began.

"It's sad. I'm not going to have any more adventures with you." Rin whispered. "But Len, always remember this; I'll love you forever."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. "Don't leave. Not yet."

"I have to." She pointed towards the ceiling. "I can see a beautiful life right there Len."

"Don't go. Stay with me, Rin. Please, I'm begging you." I pleaded.

"You've done what you could, let me go Len. Please." Rin said.

It was that last word that made me realize how fragile she was. She had carried so much weight and I was the one who was begging her to stay and fight the pain. I got up and sat in the chair beside her. I let her go.

"Thanks Len. Don't worry, I promise to send you a letter from up there." Rin took my hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"But you can't do that, Rin. You're leaving me!" I protested.

"Sometimes promises are meant to be broken, right?" Rin asked, smiling.

The words left her lips and the world stopped. That image of her last smile, so sincere and painless was one that was forever burned in my mind. Living without Rin has been the hardest thing I ever had to face in my entire existence, but I know she's watching me and she's proud of me. So, I carried on. I married and moved back to Japan. I bought a home for my wife and our child.

It's been seven years since Rin left, but I never could have forged my path had she not. I never would've broken out of my addiction and become an honest member of society; I never would have held down a job, I never would have met my bride. Rin did so much for me in a time where I thought the world had turned its back on me and now, every time I look up, I can see her playing in the clouds with all the new friends she's made. I can see her smiling and, sometimes, when I look very closely, I can see her smiling and waving at me and that sweet smile is the greatest gift she could ever give me.

It changes everything. It's so amazing; Love.